Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily
by JenniferR.Song
Summary: She never ever saw him sleep. But the one time he did, that was when she opened her eyes and resigned herself to what she could never have. One-sided Martha/10, implied Rose/10. Set betwixt Gridlock and Daleks in Manhattan. Edited: Oct.16


This is one of the many one-shots I am desperately trying to finish and publish before David Tennant's tenure as the Doctor ends on Christmas, or thereabouts. For this reason, I temporarily knocked down _In_ _Plain_ _Sight_'s importance in order to get as many of these as possible done in the next two months, plus a five-chapter _Harry_ _Potter_ fiction for Halloween that is already completed and ready to go. After that, it will be Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond (his new companion, looks like Rose with Donna's hair color, see my Youtube page for video) stories that will start to permeate the fanfiction world, if they haven't already. Definitely can tell he's getting older, the companions are getting younger. (_Pause_) Most of them, anyways. Will be odd when he appears on the _Sarah_ _Jane_ show as the Doctor in the episode "The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith." Sounds interesting, aye?

So, if this sucks, I blame the Christmas rush and my lack of experience with Martha. I prefer Donna.

Summary: She never ever saw him sleep. But the one time he did, that was when she opened her eyes and resigned herself to what she could never have. One-sided Martha/10, implied Rose/10.

Spoilers: Through _Gridlock_. Set betwixt _Gridlock_ and _Daleks in Manhattan_.

_Edited 10-16-09: Added a few little lines I forgot about until I published, then got busy and just remembered._

* * *

_Row, row, row your boat,  
Gently down the stream.  
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,  
Life is but a dream._

They had left New Earth and the city of New New York a few hours ago. Well, technically, it was the fifteenth New York since the original, but it was just too complicated to say all the time, even for the Doctor.

Speaking of which...

Where _was_ the Doctor?

Martha shrugged. He was probably directing the TARDIS to wherever or whenever they would be going next. The Time Lord seemed to be on a permanent sugar high, never sitting down. She wasn't even sure if his species _slept_.

She stopped short at the console room entrance. Maybe she'd better revise that last statement.

His feet were propped up on the TARDIS console and he was leaning back in the seat, his head supported by the railing. And he was fast asleep. He wasn't snoring, or drooling, thank heavens. As she drew closer, she heard a deep inhale, then exhale in rhythm. His eyes flickered behind his eyelids. So he was in REM sleep then.

She wondered what he was dreaming about. They, well, him, for the most part, had spent close to an hour talking about his home planet. Gallifrey. Sounded Irish. But orange skies, silver-leaved trees, red grass, _two_ suns, that definitely _screamed_ alien. She only wished she could have seen it for herself.

He grunted in his sleep. She watched as his mouth tightened, and his brow furrowed. He began murmuring words that the TARDIS wouldn't translate, words that flowed like a song, yet had a strict rhythm, almost like orders. It also had a slight Northern tone to it.

Then, finally, English. Northern Queen's English, but English all the same.

"I – I can't – destruction – no choice."

To her horror, she realized that by bringing up the subject of his home world, she had caused him to relive its last moments before it was completely blown to smithereens.

Memories that were now causing nightmares.

A short sob grabbed her attention. Tears were rolling down his face, yet he didn't wake. She was reaching out to wipe them away when he smiled, a stark contrast.

"Rose," he murmured, voice back to normal.

She withdrew. Rose again. Jealously bubbled up before she could suppress it. That's all he could ever think about was that blonde shop girl who hadn't even gotten her A-levels. Here she was, almost a full doctor _herself_, but every time a problem arose and she suggested something to solve it, she was always compared to Rose, like _she_ was somehow better than Martha.

The console abruptly rang and the Doctor jumped to his feet. There was no trace at all of the nightmares of the past.

"Well, what are you sitting there for? Let's go! Places to see, things to do!"

She jumped. He had already strode to the door and was swinging his coat on. He had a look of concern on his face.

"Are you all right, Martha?"

She stood, turning away from where the Doctor had been sleeping mere seconds ago, or had it been several minutes?

"Yeah." Her heart, her one little human heart, clenched. "Yeah, I'm all right."

"Oki-dokey, then, _Allons_-y! Love that word! Rose did too."

She couldn't help the half-smile on her face as she followed him outside, still talking a hundred light-years a second and came face to face with a white stone wall. It was an automatic thing, smiling when he did.

Ironically, she continued to scream defiantly inside even as she wondered at the sight of the American Statue of Liberty before her.

_Row, row, row your boat,  
Gently down the stream.  
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,  
Life is but a dream._

* * *

Well, my first and probably only attempt at Martha/10, written in the space of a few hours, though it cooked for about three days. If you are still hot for that couple, I highly recommend "Broken Faith,"an AU story of _SoD_ & _LotTL_, which ends up being Martha/10. Which is funny, cause it actually follows most of the canon of those episodes, except for one key point, but I won't say more. Spoilers, y'know?

Am I one of those who hate Rose? No, I just think she could've been...deeper during her companion time. But that's what fanfiction is for. Oh, and there is a really great comic strip out there that has all ten Doctors in it. I highly recommend it; RTD could've gotten a few ideas from him, they are so accurate. You can get by going to my Youtube page and searching my favs, then following the links provided. I think I'll put that guy on my subscription list.

Back to work, then, school being at the half-way point. Still, 3 As, 1 B. I'd say that's pretty good. One of my favorite professors went to Texas, another to Florida, and another retired. And no, it wasn't my fault. Good point? I have three brand new professors I am getting along well with and one introduced me to his wife, who looks a lot like Halle Berry.

Read, review, you know, the usual suspects.


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